A tunnel oven for T-shirts is a conveyorized dryer used to cure plastisol and other screen-printing inks. Unlike a heat press (which works in batches), a tunnel oven runs continuously: you place a printed shirt on the belt, it travels through a heated tunnel, and comes out on the other side with the ink fully cured and ready to wear.
Its calibrated for fabric. The shirt moves through three zones:
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Heat Tunnel: Infrared (IR) lamps raise the ink temperature to the required curing point (typically 320°F - 330°F / 160°C - 165°C).
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"Dwell" Time: The shirt stays in the heat long enough for the entire ink layer to reach cure temp.
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Cool Down: The belt exits the tunnel and naturally cools the shirt.
